Classic car showcase: The Amphicar (watch video)

Man has always had fantasies about dual-purpose vehicles such as cars that convert to airplanes or cars that convert to boats. These dreams were often depicted in craft magazines like Popular Science and Popular Mechanics with breathtaking stories of ever more astonishing breakthroughs in cars-as-boats or sometimes cars-as-planes. There is, however, one vehicle that actually brought this dream to reality: the Amphicar, an amphibious car introduced as a production vehicle in the early 1960s.

The German-built Amphicar was apparently inspired by the amphibious version of the Second World War Volkswagen Kubelwagen, Germany's "Jeep," known appropriately enough as the Schwimmwagen. Amphicar designer Hans Trippel, a pioneer in amphibious vehicles, had reportedly intended to use the VW drivetrain but marine regulations prohibited the use of an air-cooled engine.

After considering several alternatives, the best power-to-weight ratio compromise was found to be the British 1,147 cc (70 cu in.) overhead valve inline four-cylinder engine from the Triumph Herald. It developed a modest but adequate 43 horsepower at 4,750 rpm, and was mounted in the rear of the steel-bodied car-boat behind the four-seater convertible's passenger compartment.

Industrie Werke Karlsruhe of West Berlin was formed in 1961 to manufacture Amphicars, and soon moved to Karlsruhe where most of them were built. As they had to be licensed as both a car and a boat, in addition to the normal road going requirements they carried navigation lights and such marine safety equipment as oars (folded up under the front seat), flares, lifejackets and a bilge pump.

There was a lot of scepticism about the Amphicar's sea-going capability until Trippel demonstrated its seaworthiness by arranging for one to cross the English Channel in 1962

The Amphicar was introduced at the 1959 Geneva auto show. It was built from 1961 to '68, during which time some 3,800 were produced. They were largely unchanged over that period.

The performance of the Amphicar was modest, whether on land or water. Car and Driver tested one in November, 1967 and reported that on land its 43 horsepower would push the 1,043 kg (2,300 lb) Amphicar to 96 km/h (60 mph) in a leisurely 43 seconds. Top speed was estimated at 105 km/h (65 mph). In amphibious mode they recorded a top speed of six knots, or about 11 km/h (7 mph).

Amphicars never really caught on, either as cars or boats, but they did prove to be a wonderful novelty item. During a test drive in one I found the Amphicar rolls along on land with a gentle rocking motion and was somewhat prone to wandering about. Its aerodynamics are certainly not in the Mercedes-Benz or Audi class.

The low gearing makes the little engine churn out lots of revs to keep up with traffic. And while it may be capable of more than 96 km/h (60 mph) it definitely feels more at home in the 65 to 72 km/h (40 to 45 mph) range.

But one always has the impression that the Amphicar would rather be a boat, that on city streets it feels a little like, dare we say, a fish out of water.

Changing the Amphicar from car to boat is surprisingly easy. After securing the specially sealed doors with the large lever at each lower rear corner of the door, the clutch is depressed and a small lever beside the main four-speed shifter engages the twin nylon propellers. The car is driven straight into the water in first gear until it begins to float and the propellers take over. First gear is then disengaged.

One soon adapts to the change in status from driver to sailor as the Amphicar chugs along nicely at four or five knots. In spite of seeming to sit very low in the water there is still over 500 mm (20 in.) of freeboard. There is no rudder so steering is accomplished, vaguely, in the water the same way it is on land – by turning the front wheels.

First time pilots sometimes flail away on the brake pedal, which of course does no good at all, except perhaps psychologically. A hand throttle is provided to relieve the strain on the right foot, cruise control in the true sense of the word. To return to dry land one simply re-engages first gear, drives out of the water and disengages the propellers.

There is one warning that I feel obliged to pass on. If you are a shrinking violet or have any tendency to shyness have nothing whatsoever to do with the Amphicar. It attracts phenomenal attention, including waves, smiles, and most of all looks of disbelief, particularly when in the Amphicar-as-boat mode.

Once back on land, true to its offbeat character, the Amphicar emits a very unladylike stream of water out of the rear (stern?) as the bilge pump does its necessary work.